To Defend an Empire
by Sovereign and Unbroken
Summary: In the far-off future, the Equestrian Empire and the Griffon Empire battle for territory all over the universe. On Sanctum, the Iron Chapter Space-Marines defend the colonists. But a new foe has arisen from a deep slumber. Sanctum is about to burn, and not a soul realizes it. **Accepting OC's**
1. Chapter 1

The Equestrian Empire, undoubtedly the largest faction in the known universe. It spreads over countless planets, dozens of star-systems. Ruled by the God-Empresses Celestia and Luna, they are opposed only by the Griffon Empire. The zebra species has willingly melded into the Equestrian Empire's culture, adding their unique sets of skills as apothecaries and warriors to that of the Empire.

But trouble always brews in the universe. War is constant. The Griffon Empire and the Equestrian Empire have been at war for countless millennia. The ponies of Equestria, while strong in heart and body, were nowhere near strong enough to match the ferocity of the griffon legions.

And so Celestia and Luna sought out another way. They found their answer, in the form of a zebra. He performed a surgery on a soldier, using a mixture of magic and science. He enhanced the soldier's strength, made him faster, tougher, and smarter. With improved senses, the super-soldier slaughtered a hundred griffons alone before succumbing to the enemy.

Hundreds of thousands of these soldiers were produced. They waged war like no others, and were dubbed the "Space-Marines", from the fact that they were originally dropped by space-craft, directly into battle.

After thousands of years, every original Space-Marine died valiantly in combat. The production of Space-Marines was drastically reduced. Each year, two thousand are made. One half of those made are put into a new Chapter, a battalion of the super-soldiers, backed by another two thousand normal and support troops. The other thousand are made to bolster existing Chapters.

On the Harvest-Planet of Sanctum, Iron Chapter protects the ponies and zebras there from all potential threats. But a new foe has surfaced – one that threatens to exterminate the entire universe. The Changeling horde has come out of its slumber. And on this unsuspecting planet, it intends to rise once again.

* * *

The music in the club was deafening. The bass seemed to shake the very building itself. The DJ stood in her booth, grinning wildly as she turned a dial, and the song grew even louder. Hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses, her ruby red eyes scanned the crowd as a sense of satisfaction came over. This was her doing. They all came here, each and every pony in that crowd, to listen to her music. To listen to _her._

The white-coated mare smiled and slowly bobbed her head to the beat, feeling the bass shake her booth. Her cutie mark was a spinning record, similar ones ran in her family. She ran a hoof through her spiky, ruby-red mane and glanced at the crowd once again. Some kind of commotion was stopping the party. She couldn't have that. Looking closer, she could see two heavily armored figures standing at the door, both of them clad in rust colored powered armor. One of them was carrying a massive blade over his shoulder.

Sighing with a hint of contempt, she turned the volume down slightly, and reached out for the mic before her.

"Hey, party-ponies, excuse our _guests_," she said, using an exaggerated tone,_ "_If the two armored patrons in the back of the club would be kind enough to come to the booth, the party can carry on."

The crowd, seemingly satisfied with their DJ's dismissal, parted for the two massive figures, and closed behind them, perfectly contented with continuing their party. The power-armored figures eventually found their way to the booth, and the DJ stared at them.

"I told you rust-buckets, I'm not interested in any of your jobs." She spat acidly, leaning on her console. "So this better be good." Her voice leveled out.

The smaller figure, unarmed, but still intimidating, stepped forward slightly. The icy blue eyes of its helmet seemed to look straight through her. "Forgive us, Ruby, but we have news you may wish to hear."

The larger figure, with a massive two-hoofed sword slung over its back, shifted uncomfortably, and glanced to its partner. "Battle-brother, I fear she may not believe us. We are technically intruders."

Ruby Fragment glanced between the two and raised a hoof to silence them. "Listen," She said, her voice cool and collected, "Just spit out whatever you have. I'm a busy pony."

The smaller figure nodded to his "Battle-brother", and looked back to Ruby Fragment. "We believe there is a traitor amongst us."

Ruby Fragment opened her mouth to speak, but the large figure was faster. "And we believe he works for you, Ruby. With your permission, we'd like to flush out this traitor."

Ruby Fragment stood, gaping at the two, as she processed the information. She swore something in her head seemed to pop, and she came back to life.

"What do you mean," She said, bring a hoof to her temple and rubbing it, "One of my workers may be a traitor?"

The smaller figure nodded slowly. "We fear Stale Mate is feeding information to the enemy."

Ruby Fragment shook her head, eyes wide under her sunglasses. "Stale Mate is..." She brought her head down and spoke low, "Stale Mate is a spy?"

"Aye. We've found incriminating letters, and data-feeds." Said the large figure. "We have irrefutable proof that the pony is in league with Griffon Empire."

Ruby Fragment eyed the two. She knew the ranks of Marines never made a habit out of lying. If anything, their one-sided minds seemed determined to tell the truth, even if they would take harm from it. But still, learning her barkeep was a griffon spy... It didn't seem true.

"You have..." Ruby Fragment said, her voice slightly shaky, "You have evidence?"

The smaller figure nodded. "Undeniable evidence. We must apprehend this pony at once. We ask that you make sure this does not become a large scene. We wish to leave without incident."

Ruby looked around the sea of faces. It took her a moment to pick out the stern face of Stale Mate, who sat quietly behind the bar, cleaning a glass as he chatted with a half-drunk patron. Ruby Fragment sighed, and levitated the mic over, pressing the "speak" button.

"Stale Mate... You have some, uh, _guests_ here to see you. I suggest you come to the booth immediately," cooed Ruby, "Party on ponies!"

The crowd roared in reply, and continued their party as commanded. After a moment of standing in an awkward silence, Stale Mate found his way to the DJ booth. All the blood drained from his face when you see the thick forms of the Marines. The brown-coated stallion bared his teeth and spat at the ground.

"You rotten bitch, you sold me out, didn't you!" Hissed the stallion, glaring at Ruby. "I'll rip yer bloody throat out!"

Stale Mate advanced towards Ruby with unnatural speed. His hooves extended towards Ruby's neck as he neared. Just as he came close enough to grasp around her throat, both of his hooves were sliced off in a flash of blue.

"Die abomination!" barked the largest stallion, with his sword drawn, held between both hooves by a magnetic grip. The edges of the blade glowed a deep blue, and it hummed with power. "You will not spread your influence any further!"

Ruby's eyes went wide as a thick, greenish blood spattered across her face. She fell backwards, crawling away from the scene unfolding before her. The Marine had just chopped off her bartender's fore-hooves, but he was trying to kill her. None of it made sense. She let out a pained cry of confusion.

That's when she saw something. Stale Mate, the brown earth pony she'd worked with for years, slowly... _Morphed_ into something else. An insect-like creature in the shape of a pony, with gnarled limbs and a horn. More green blood poured from his severed fore-hooves as he hissed and flailed.

"Fall, damn you!" the large Marine howled again, and with a grunt of effort, rammed his sword straight through Stale Mate's body, and hoisted him up into the air like a rag-doll. Ruby could make out a hiss, and a thin stream of smoke rose from where the blade met flesh.

Ruby pushed her back against the console, and turned away from the gruesome scene. She felt bile rise in her throat, and struggled to keep it down. A moment after she heard the body fall to the floor, a metal-covered hoof fell beside her. Ruby looked up slowly to be greeted by the unhelmeted head of the smaller stallion.

The stallion's baby-blue coat and pure white mane clashed against his dark, rust-colored armor. But Ruby found herself drawn to his eyes, which were an unnaturally bright blue, filled with a cold intelligence.

"You are unharmed, correct?" He asked, his voice unusually level.

Ruby quickly patted herself down, checking each limb and running a hoof through her mane. She tried to speak, but choked on the words. She nodded slowly, eyes still wide.

"Good," he said, nodding back. "Forgive us, but this place must be purged. The changeling presence has been confirmed. It is no longer safe here."

Ruby blinked twice, and shambled to her hooves. "W-what? Purge?"

The larger stallion, now unhelmeted as well, hefted his sword above his head and brought it back down upon the changeling's corpse, beheading it. "This place must be burned to cleanse it of disease and sickness."

The large stallion's features were strong and blunt. A silver coat and bronze mane seemed to match his use of the blade. His eyes were a strangely dark orange, burning with a strange fire.

Ruby shook her head. "Burn it? No, I live here! This place is my life! It's been in my family for years!"

The smaller stallion shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it must be done. We can offer you room and board for a period afterward, but there is little else I can say."

The large stallion grunted, and sheathed his blade. He turned his back to Ruby and his battle-brother. "I'll clear the building."

"Yes, you do that. I'll call for reinforcements." replied the smaller stallion, nodding. He turned his icy gaze on Ruby. "Stay here. When reinforcements come, I'll escort you to retrieve any personal belongings."

The large stallion worked to clear out the building. The already-panicked crowd had begun to flock towards the entrance, most of them leaving without being told to do so. But a few revelers had to be shoved roughly towards the entrance. Once the crowd of party-goers had been cleared, the stallion scoured the rest of the club.

* * *

The armored soldiers poured into the club, armed with a large variety of weapons, from pistols, to rifles, to back-mounted flame-throwers. At least a dozen of them had arrived, accompanied by other, more lightly armored soldiers in combat vests and helmets. Ruby had learned the smaller stallion's name, Cold Winds, and that under that armor of his, he had a set of wings. He had told her his cutie mark was a blue flake of snow. The larger stallion, Solid Steel, was an earth pony. His cutie mark was a shield, according to Cold Winds. She had also learned that the entire thing had been a ploy to uproot the suspected changeling. Needless to say, it worked

"Are you going to gather your personal belongings?" Cold Winds asked, staring at Ruby Fragment from beneath his skull-faced helmet. "We should get going soon."

Ruby sighed, and nervously ran a hoof through her mane, until she touched her horn and retracted her hoof. "All I really have... This turntable, a few music samples, my shades... And a pair of headphones."

Cold Winds studied her under his helmet. Ruby could practically feel him scrutinize her. He shrugged. "We can bring those, if you like."

Ruby eyed him for a moment. "Even the turntable...?" Cold Winds nodded. "Really? This heavy piece of equipment? You'll let me bring it?"

Cold Winds shrugged again. "We use heavier machinery as weaponry on a daily basis. Solid Steel can load it when we leave." The armored pegasus gazed out towards the mass of soldiers who bustled about.

After a lengthy period of time, Solid Steel reappeared. His sword was slung over his back once again, and his helmet had also been replaced. He glanced at Ruby Fragment.

"Once again, I apologize for this inconvenience. We certainly didn't wish for it to wind up like this." The armored earth stallion said, his head inclined slightly. "I shall say a prayer for you."

Ruby hesitated, not sure how to respond. She glanced at Cold Winds, who chuckled. The pegasus turned back to Ruby.

"Forgive Solid Steel," said Cold Winds, nodding towards the massive pony, "He means well, and performs his tasks without a second thought, but he is quite fervent in his worship of the God-Empresses. Even more so than the usual Marine."

Solid Steel bowed his head, and glanced around the booth. His eyes settled on Ruby once more. "Are we ready to depart? I wish to go home."

Cold Winds nodded, and glanced at Ruby. "She has a belonging which she cannot carry. Solid Steel, would you have the honors?"

The massive earth pony bowed low, and rose back up. "Where may I be of assistance?"

Ruby paused, and pointed at her turntables. Despite their age, they had served her faithfully, and she'd had to leave something like that to burn. "T-these... But, maybe you should get a..." Her voice trailed off.

Solid Steel grunted with effort, and hoisted the machine up over his head. His armor whirred and whined as the stallion inside panted with exhaustion, and glanced to Cold Winds. "Where to?" His voice was strained.

Cold Winds smiled under his helmet, and pointed out the door. "Our transport awaits us."

* * *

Flare Twister inhaled deeply, and glanced around the dark room. The only light provided was that of the flame in the far side of the room, the dull orange glow coming from the incinerator. Flare Twister couldn't help but to allow a small smile grow at the thought of the flame. He had always had an attraction to fire. His parents called him a "pyromaniac". The pegasus chuckled every time he thought of it.

"Look at me now, dad..." Flare said, grinning slightly. "Burning things for a living."

Flare Twister leaned against the wall, and eyed the incinerator's control panel. His blood red skin blended in with the dark, rusted walls of the incinerator control room. His bright orange and yellow mane were covered in soot and ash from the incinerator.

Flare adjusted his combat-vest, and shuffled towards the control panel. He flipped a switch, and the flames in the incinerator flew roared as they grew. When the flames were an appropriate height and heat, according to the many gauges on the control panel, Flare smiled and hit a button on the left.

A chute opened above the incinerator, and sputtered for a moment. Moments later, the chute dumped out various pieces of trash and waste-matter. It all fell into the incinerator, and the flames crackled and popped as they devoured the trash. Flare smiled to himself, and reached up, placing his hoof on a lever. He slowly pushed the lever up, and the flames grew even more, roaring loudly.

The flames were so loud Flare Twister barely heard his comm-unit crackle with static. Sighing discontentedly, he pulled the lever back down and the flames slowly died out, leaving embers and steam in their place. Flare lifted a hoof to his ear, and pressed the "speak" button.

"Flare Twister speaking, what is it?" Flare asked, his voice betraying his discontent.

There was a long pause on the comms channel. "Um, Flare?" A female's voice finally answered. "You might want to come up here and, uh, well, see this."

Flare sighed and started towards the elevator. "What exactly is 'this', Violet?"

Violet Storm paused again. "I can't really explain..."

Flare Twister shook his head, and hit the elevator button. "Alright, alright, I'm coming up."

The elevator lurched upwards with a slightly sickening grind, and began its ascent to the courtyard of Iron Chapter's home, Rust Central, or so it's many inhabitants called it. Officially, it was named Iron Base Omega. But, due to the Chapter's signature armor color, the name Rust Central seemed to have stuck.

The door to the courtyard slid open, and Flare stepped outside. The warm breeze blew his soot-stained mane into his face, which he quickly fixed. The air was thick and humid, and Flare felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead from the humidity alone.

Flare glanced about until he saw Violet Storm, standing just outside the armory, next to a crate of ammunition. The pegasus mare's gray coat blended in with the dull coloration of the concrete walls around the base. Her mane was streaked with black and deep purple, and blew freely in the breeze. Unhidden by her combat vest, her cutie mark was a purple swirl of wind, with black droplets of rain.

Violet was too busy gawking at a scene to notice Flare. The red pegasus cast about to see what she was looking at, when he saw a transport truck. But it was the ponies _coming out_ of the truck that caught his attention.

He recognized the armored form of Solid Steel, who carried something obviously heavy over his back, and Cold Winds. _Bastard_, Flare thought, _taking the easy missions._ But then he noticed the civilian who stood beside Solid Steel, instructing him, from what he saw.

Flare huffed, and unfurled his wings. He took flight, and moments later, he landed before the trio. He narrowed his eyes on the unicorn mare, whom he didn't quite recognize.

"Why did you bring a _civilian_ here?" Flare Twister demanded, glaring at Cold Winds. "You know the rules about something like that."

The mare opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Cold Winds. "You're not really one to talk about rules and regulations. You spend all day working the incinerator, when you're supposed to get at least an hour of training a day."

Flare sighed. "I do something that actually matters in there. Nopony else knows how to run the incinerator, and we have to burn so much a day to keep things from getting backed up. You know that."

"And you know," Cold Winds began, removing his helmet and taking a breath, "That we are bound by honor. We burnt her home to the ground. The least we can do is offer her a temporary home."

Flare Twister and Cold Winds continued to bicker. Solid Steel grunted, and glanced at Ruby Fragment.

"I'd really like to set this down somewhere..." He groaned, "Let's find somewhere to do so."

Ruby nodded, and glanced around. She noticed a large, garage-like building, and pointed a hoof in that direction. "How about in there?"

Solid Steel paused, and nodded. "The armory... Splendid..." He replied, his voice stressed. "Let's go, then."

Solid Steel's armor whirred and whined as he proceeded, the joints on his limbs flexing to their limits. Ruby followed closely behind, not wanting to get lost in such a place. Other ponies, all military personnel from the looks of them, eyed her suspiciously as she passed, but seemed to dismiss her when they noticed the armor form beside her.

As they entered the armory, Ruby noticed a pegasus mare had begun walking beside Solid Steel. From her perspective, they obviously knew each other.

"Hail, Violet Storm," Solid Steel said, nodding to acknowledge the small mare, "How goes the day?"

Violet Storm nodded in return, "Good enough... Who's your, um... _Guest_?" Violet asked, leaning in front of Solid Steel to glance at Ruby.

"Ruby Fragment," the armored stallion replied with a grunt, as he set down the turntable on his back. "We purged her home."

"I thought it was a nightclub?" Inquired the pegasus mare.

"It was," Ruby chimed, "But I lived there."

Violet Storm blinked as she registered it. "Oh. I'm, well, sorry, then."

Ruby sighed and looked to the ground. "Yeah, me too."

As if he sensed the air tense, Solid Steel clapped his massive, gloved hooves on both mare's shoulder. "What say we find you suitable quarters, eh?"

**Yes, another one! I am accepting OC's, through PM ONLY! If you leave an OC in the reviews, I will not accept it, or any others from you. PM me and I'll send you the required info for a character. Thank you for reading. **


	2. Chapter 2

Yazz looked out into the librarium from the balcony, and sighed. His left foreleg whirred and whined as it moved, the mechanical gears and wires worn out from constant use. The zebra's left foreleg – or lack of a foreleg, was a reminder he wasn't a prime candidate to be a Space-Marine, and never would be. He lacked the physical prowess, and the attitude of a soldier. No, he made a much better scribe than he did a warrior. And he didn't quite like to think about the years of speech therapy to "correct" his habit of rhyming as he spoke.

The scribe stood at an average height, not quite standing out in a crowd, save for his non-living body-part. His mow-hawk was low-cut, and covered by the hood of his crimson robe. The marks on his robe indicated his rank as a master-scribe and light combatant. The bulky battle-plate under his robes conveyed the latter much better than the marks, as did the blade and bolt-pistol holstered on his hip.

Yazz's mechanical arm reached to his belt, and pulled his flask free. Glancing over his shoulder, the robed zebra chuckled and took a quick swig of the flask's contents. He stuffed the flask back into his belt, and turned to leave.

Just as Yazz turned, he bumped into somepony.

"Oh, dear, forgive my..." Yazz began, bowing his head, expecting to see a power-armored figure before him. He rolled his eyes when he glanced up and saw a lightly armored pegasus mare. "Oh, hello Clover."

Clover stumbled backwards for a moment. When she regained her balance, the bright green pegasus mare brushed a strand of her dark green mane out of her face. Her light vest was colored a dull olive drab, and fit snugly around her sleek build. She seemed slightly dazed, then registered Yazz before her.

"Oh, hey," Clover said casually, glancing off the balcony, "Didn't see you there Yazz."

Yazz sniffed, and nodded. "Nor I you, Clover. What brings you to my little plane of existence?"

Clover's emerald green eyes scanned the scribe's face for a moment, with the slight flicker of psychic energy. His amethyst eyes responded likewise. Clover shrugged, and glanced about.

"Just passing through." Clover replied, arching an eyebrow at the scribe. "Going to visit Brimstone."

Yazz nodded knowingly. "Another lesson, eh?"

"Yeah. He's strict on training," Clover acknowledged he zebra's suspicions with a slight nod, and intoned sarcastically "_The path of the psychic is not an easy one, and requires rigorous training._"

Yazz chuckled and shook his head in mock-disapproval. "Don't let Brimstone catch you speaking like that. He'd have you using your abilities to clean up after the trainees sparring sessions."

Clover hesitated, and glanced around. "Yeah, well, I should probably get going. Empress knows I don't want to be late."

* * *

Dozens of ponies bustled about the armory. Some of them were engineers and mechanics, others were soldiers fetching their gear, and even more were servitors and mechanicum ponies, half-machine, half-flesh, supposedly savants with technology of all forms.

Quick Silver, a gray pegasus, bearing a white mane, sat calmly in a far corner of the armory, casually performing maintenance on a plated vest. The stallion's cutie mark was a plain skull.

Quick Silver eyed an armored Space-Marine that was walking towards his general vicinity. The Marine wore light powered-armor, a more recent model. The greaves of the armor was seemingly missing. His helmet dangled from his waist, along with a sniper rifle strapped across his back. The Marine's unhelmeted head revealed that his left eye was mechanized, with that portion of his face also being covered in cybernetics. His brown coat blended with the rust-toned armor, as did his buzz-cut dark brown mane and short-cut tail. The Marine's cutie mark was two crossed rifles, and the skull of a beast. His cutie mark was also printed across his left shoulder pad.

"Hey, tin can," Quick Silver called out, letting his plated vest sit for the time being, "What's the rush? I'm sure there'll be plenty of food left in the mess!"

The Space-Marine paused, and glowered at Quick Silver, before continuing his path. Quick Silver chuckled, and pondered chasing after the armored stallion. He decided against it, and went back to tending his armor.

Ghost continued through the armory and into one of the many corridors in Rust Central, his synthetic eye feeding him vast amounts of information via neural implants. At the moment, a slight red haze came over his field of vision, though it slowly faded as his anger died down. _Damn fool, _Ghost thought, still glowering, _if I weren't busy I'd..._

Ghost let his thoughts wander as he paced the halls, the multiple servitors and smaller soldiers stepping out of his path to avoid the risk of getting toppled by the armored pegasus.

He returned to his senses at least as he reached the med-bay. Immediately, a mechanicum mare sidled past Ghost, as he occupied the majority of the doorway. Scanning the room, the Space-Marine found his target, his synthetic eye locking on the unicorn.

Ghost lumbered over to the apothecary, and grunted to catch his attention. The action seemed to be unnecessary.

"Hello, Ghost," the unicorn began, not turning away from the book that sat before him. "Back for another visit so soon?"

The unicorn's coat was a warm cream, and his mane was well groomed and golden, seemingly shiny in the bright lighting of the med-bay. His cutie mark was a perfectly spherical diamond. At his side, an energy-foil was sheathed.

Precious Gem turned in his swivel-chair, and eyed Ghost. The unicorn had what seemed to be a small smile on his face. "Is your eye still bothering you? Did you have somepony more... _Technological_ than myself examine it?"

Ghost shook his head and answered dully, "Nopony here knows anything about cybernetic enhancements."

Precious Gem sighed, and slowly rose from his seat, undaunted by the Space-Marine's armored stature. "Fine... Lay down on the table over there," he said, pointing a hoof to the far end of the room, at a table with a bulky machine covering a portion of it, "And I'll take another look."

Ghost grunted both his appreciations, and acceptance, before slowly pacing over to the table. He sat, and lay down on the table, his heavy vest clanking against the metal. He set his head down on what seemed to be a head-rest, which was partially covered by the machinery.

A few moments later, Precious Gem appeared again, just barely in Ghost's vision, most of it blocked by the machine.

"Hold still," the apothecary instructed, disappearing from sight and fiddling with the machine. "You may hear a slight ringing... That's completely normal."

* * *

Within the sealed halls of the V.I. Archimedes, a massive Mechanicum cruiser, hundreds of thousands of ponies bustled about as they prepared to land. Within the next three days, they would dock at one of Sanctum's spaceports, and deliver their cargo. Preparations had to be made in advance, or the ship would be in chaos as they reached their destination.

The coordinated efforts of the mechanicum ponies, some purely machine, others purely flesh, and countless others a mixture of the two, was organized and relatively peaceful. The computers and A.I.'s aboard, and built into, the ship made the efforts that much smoother.

Deep within one of many cargo holds, a half-machine earth pony paced about worriedly. What furred coat he had left was a dark brown, while both his mane and tail were long gone, replaced by various wires and cables. The top of his skull was missing, replaced with composite metals, and both eyes were artificial, glowing a cold blue.

Two mechanical arms sprouted from his shoulder-blades, one bearing a claw, and the other a trio containing a drill, torch, and miniature chain-blade, mounted to the very bone. Dozens of neural implants and various other enhancements allowed fluent control of the extra limbs. Around his body, small patches of metal plating, riveted directly into his bone, replaced flesh and muscle. Only one side of his flank remained intact, the other replaced with a bronze-tinted metal plate, revealing his cutie mark, a half-mechanical heart.

"The time comes soon..." the stallion began, his voice tinny and synthesized, "The cargo shall be delivered in mere days."

Another figure stepped out of the shadows. A pitch black unicorn stallion, his mane a light gray with two red streaks. He wore a lightly plated vest, leaving the majority of his body uncovered. His cutie mark was a knife, wrapped in cloth.

"Calm down, Gizmo." the unicorn said, shaking his head.

Gizmo Fidget turned to face the unicorn, "Don't tell me to calm down, Night Shade. The time of judgment comes soon. I have every right to be apprehensive."

Night Shade opened his mouth to reply, when the ship rocked suddenly, knocking both stallions to the floor. Night Shade was the first to rise.

"What in the name of all that is holy was that?" Gizmo wondered aloud, slowly rising to his hooves. "Were we just struck?"

Night Shade glanced around and shook his head. "I don't know," he began, and turned towards the bulkhead doors nearby, "But we've got trouble either way."

* * *

Several servitors loitered near the shrine, and a pair of mechanicum tech-priests sat beside their own small shrine, dedicated to their machine-spirits. The larger shrine, dedicated to the God-Empresses Luna and Celestia, sat at the front of the altar-room.

Kneeling directly in front of the shrine, a squat, stocky unicorn murmured incomprehensible prayers. With a coat of sulfur and a dark green mane, the stallion wore an aged suit of powered-armor, battle-scarred and bearing the marks of many campaigns. A bolt-pistol lay beside him, the safety on and the magazine laying upright on the stone floor. A small, purple amulet dangled from his chest-piece, and a club, topped with what appeared to be the skull of a pony, was leaned against the altar.

The veil between the halls and the altar-room was brushed aside as Clover stepped inside. She glanced around, and her eyes set on the stallion before the altar.

Without glancing up, he said "You're late." The stallion slowly rose, and turned to face Clover. Several scars ran across various sections of his face. There was a flame of psychic energy in his sap-green eyes.

Clover sighed, and nodded. "Yes, I know I was late."

The stallion sighed, and turned back to the altar. There was a brief flash in his eyes, and his horn began to glow. His bolt-pistol slowly levitated up into the air, and found its place holstered on the armored bulk of his left foreleg. The magazine found its way to a pouch around his waist. He stooped low, and snatched up the club, hefting it in his hooves with a small smile.

"What I just did was a simple task for any unicorn with basic levitation skills," he began, turning back to Clover. "But for other ponies, it requires more work. For a psychic, it's a menial task."

Clover nodded, "I know, Brimstone, but-"

Brimstone raised a hoof to silence her. "But it requires training to master the ability to utilize your inborn skills."

Clover resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "And only you can train me, right?"

Brimstone nodded. "Yes. Because there isn't another psychic on this side of the planet."

* * *

The gymnasia was filled with soldiers of all breeds. Space-Marines and standard infantry, engineers and heavy troopers, all of them came to the gymnasia to train themselves and each other.

In the far corner of the gymnasia, Ruby Fragment contented herself by fiddling with her turntable, her pair of headphones and sunglasses effectively disconnecting her from the rest of the world.

Cold Winds, his armor removed and his body covered with a frost-blue robe, the hood down around his shoulders, sat in one of many cubbyhole-like rooms that lined the walls of the gymnasia, most of which were high up, only accessible to pegasai. The stallion enjoyed the sensation of stretching his wings, which were normally confined by the heavy plates of his armor.

A silent Violet Storm sat beside him, her hind-legs dangling off the ledge of the cubby as she sat. She was dressed in a light gray fatigue vest, and she scanned the gymnasia in a bored fashion.

Just below, Cold Winds' attention was caught on the scene unfolding. His battle-brother, Solid Steel, also free of the metal confines of his armor and dressed in a dull gray loincloth bearing a collection of runes, most of which Cold Winds couldn't make out. The hulking form of the earth stallion was crouched, both fore-hooves locked into gauntlets that were linked to long lines of chain, attached to heavy weights, supported by a series of pulleys on either side of the stallion.

Even from high up, Cold Winds could tell the unarmored Marine was enjoying himself, almost as much as he does on a battlefield. Two servitors sat on either side of Solid Steel, both of them with worried, near-frightened looks plastered on their faces.

"More weight." grunted Solid Steel through gritted teeth. The strain in his voice was apparent.

"Sire," one of the servitors began, her tone hushed, "That's all the weight we have in the gymnasia."

The Marine grunted his acknowledgment, and shifted slightly, pulling down even harder on the gauntlets, hefting both weights into the air behind him. "Then I'll lift you as well."

The two servitors immediately traded worried glances. "Sire, with all due respect..."

Cold Winds sighed, and flared his wings as he dove out of the cubby. The pegasus parachuted down, safely landing before his battle-brother, smiling wryly.

"Brother, I believe you've lifted enough for the time being," Cold Winds said, chuckling, "There's no need to heft the servitors over your shoulders." He turned to the two servitors. "You're dismissed."

The two servitors nodded, and quickly vacated the area. Solid Steel slowly let the weights fall to the floor behind him, then grunted as he pulled once more. He fixed his eyes on Cold Winds.

"Come to be my weight instead, have you?" He asked, grinning slightly.

Cold Winds chuckled again, and shook his head, "No, brother I came to rescue those two from you. You'd break the frail things with your brute force."

Solid Steel grunted again as he set the weighs down, this time pulling his hooves free of the gauntlets. The massive stallion craned his neck and stretched.

"Care to spar, brother?"

Cold Winds blinked at the thought. He chuckled again, and shook his head respectfully. "I'd rather not, brother."

Solid Steel shook his head and lumbered forward, grinning slightly. "Defend yourself!" He bellowed, and without any more warning, the stallion rushed forward with both forelegs extended.

Cold Winds sighed, and dashed backwards, flapping his pinions to gather lift. The pegasus skidded to a halt several meters away, and glanced up to see the form of Solid Steel, low to the ground. Cold Winds risked a glance around the room, to see the rest of the gymnasia slowly gathering around the spectacle, some with wonder, some with humor.

Before Cold Winds knew it, his brother was upon him. "Let's give them a show, then, battle-brother." He said in a near-whisper, outstretching both fore-hooves to snatch at the pegasus.

Cold Winds pounded his pinions, and flew up just out of the stallion's reach. The pegasus couldn't suppress his grin as his battle-brother furrowed his brow. The earth pony stopped where he was, apparently deterred by Cold Winds' trick.

After a moment, Solid Steel turned and shrugged. "It appears you've bested me, brother." He said nonchalantly, shuffling towards the lifting-machine once again.

Cold Winds furrowed his brow as he slowly landed. His battle-brother never gave up. There was something amiss. Before he could put a hoof on it, he heard a familiar battle-cry. Then the realization hit him with the weight of a freight-train. Once again, his brother was upon him. The lumbering stallion was closer than Cold Winds would have suspected, and the pegasus found himself locked in a grapple with him.

Despite Solid Steel's larger stature, and undoubtedly superior raw power, Cold Winds found himself equal with his battle-brother. The two were locked in a simple, hoof-to-hoof grapple, with neither truly budging. Solid Steel shot his brother a grin, and it was obvious he was about to unveil some kind of trick. But he slipped up – something caught his eye behind Cold Winds.

Solid Steel's momentary loss of focus allowed his battle-brother to gain the upper-hoof. Cold Winds brought himself low, and rammed his shoulder into the earth pony's gut. The sheer impact seemed to resonate with both of the Marines. Solid Steel staggered backwards, obviously dazed. Cold Winds staggered similarly, feeling a tight knot in the muscle around his shoulder.

The crackle of static over the loudspeaker broke up the small crowd that had gathered. "Squads two through four of Iron Chapter Marines, report to the Atrium. Squads six through eleven of Iron Support, report to Atrium."

Solid Steel seemed to shake off the blow, and glance at Cold Winds with a small smile. "Time to go, then, battle-brother?"

Cold Winds rolled his shoulder forward to ease out the knot, and nodded. "It appears so."

Violet Storm, who had been a part of the crowd that had gathered around the dueling Marines, followed the two out of the gymnasia and to the Atrium, as Iron Support Eleven's lead scout.

* * *

The walls of the Hive were slick, ill-looking, and slathered with what appeared to be gore. The membrane spread slowly, almost like it was a living thing, and followed the changelings wherever they went.

Praelia looked around, and smiled to himself. The stench of decay filled the Hive, wafting around every corner, into every nook and cranny. The changeling's smile grew as he moved onward, pushing past the occasional drone or gatherer to get by.

Chitinous scales covered his body, growing thicker in places where scarification had taken place. A membrane in the form of a crest rose atop his head, marking his position as a warrior amongst the Hive. He marched on with his head held high.

Eventually, Praelia found himself at his destination – the Queen's Chamber. A single Praetorian guard stood vigil, massive and still as stone. The bulky, naturally armored form of the Praetorian towered at least two heads over Praelia, covered in thick plates of mutated chitin and various membranes. Two large tusks jutted out from the beast's lower jaw, along with the fangs of the changelings. The cold blue eyes of the behemoth seemed to be void of life.

Until, that is, Praelia came close to the chamber entrance. The brute stirred to life in an instant, lumbering over a few steps to block the entrance. The towering beast stared down at Praelia, and examined him.

"You..." The thing began, sniffing the air around Praelia. "You... Go in. Queen see you."

Praelia bowed slightly. "Of course, Brutus."

Brutus shifted slightly, then his bulk moved out of Praelia's path. Praelia dipped slightly again, and quickly shuffled past Brutus and into the Queen's chamber. Two more Praetorians stood guard, flanking the dais in the center of the chamber. Half a dozen more warriors stood around the room, just as vigilant as their bulky brethren.

Praelia stopped fifteen paces short of the throne, and dropped to his knees, inclining his head. "My queen..."

"You may rise, warrior." A high-pitched voice cut from the shadows. A moment later, the lithe, wiry form stepped out into the dull light of the Hive. A mossy green mane, composed of what appeared to be plant-matter, hung from the Queen's head. Her piercing green eyes were locked on Praelia.

Praelia did as instructed. "You wished to see me, your majesty?"

The Queen turned away, pacing the small platform in front of her raised throne. "We have received orders..." she stopped dead. "From a Hive-mind that was supposed to have been burned to ash a millennia ago."

Praelia's confidence slipped away from him, and his voice wavered as he spoke. "W-what does this mean, your majesty? What are we to do?"

"We are going to follow our orders," the Queen said, "Because the Hive-mind that contacted us..." her voice trailed off weakly.

Praelia swallowed a lump in his throat. "My queen?"

The Queen turned back to Praelia and slowly ascended the stairs of her throne. "You know of our creator... The original Queen, from Equestria itself, hundreds of thousands of years ago. You know of what happened, how our kind was cast out.

"We have been contacted by the Divine, warrior." The Queen finished, smiling slightly. "The Hive-mind of Chrysalis herself has instructed that we take this planet by storm."

The apprehension in Praelia's muscles slowly faded. "We're going to war, my queen?"

The Queen clapped her fore-hooves together. "Yes, warrior. We are. And I want you and your kin spearheading the movement." A moment later, Brutus appeared beside Praelia.

"Queen call?" The simple-minded gargantuan asked, tilting his head in curiosity.

The Queen lifted a hoof and softly rubbed under Brutus' chin. "Yes, my son... I have a task for you."

Brutus, momentarily caught up in the Queen's affection, snapped to attention and pounded a heavy hoof against his chest-plate. "Yes! Brutus do good, make queen proud!"

The Queen smiled, and turned away. "Good..." Though neither of them could see, the Queen's eyes burned with passion. "Make me proud, my children..." She whispered.


End file.
